State vows to keep Mid-Mo open

Mid-Missouri Mental Health Center will remain open even if University Healthcare does not take over operation of the facility this summer.

"The Mid-Missouri area needs psychiatric beds," said Bob Bax, spokesman for the state's mental health department. Closing the Columbia facility is "not an option," he said today.

Gov. Jay Nixon on Tuesday recommended that University Healthcare assume operation of the mental health center next to University Hospital at the start of fiscal 2010, or July 1. That announcement was followed yesterday by a memo to state mental health staff from department Director Keith Schafer, which outlined ongoing discussions with University Healthcare.

Nixon's recommendation and Schafer's memo led some Mid-Mo employees to speculate the facility would close if University Healthcare does not agree to operate the hospital.

"There's been a lot of rumors flying around here today because of the governor's comments," Rona Biele, assistant chief executive at Mid-Mo, said yesterday.

Bax said Schafer would soon be meeting with the approximately 190 Mid-Mo staff members "to provide as much information as possible" about discussions with University Healthcare. If the university decides to take over hospital operations, Bax said, "we're going to work very hard to be sure the staff transition to the university."

Nixon said today in Columbia that the deal is "worth looking into" because it's a state agency-to-state agency transfer, and the move could bring additional federal reimbursements to the facility. We should try to draw federal dollars as much as we can."

Nixon said he is "cautiously optimistic" the deal will happen.

MU Chancellor Brady Deaton said today he thinks there could be a "natural relationship" between UM Health Care and the mental health facility. "There has to be a solid foundation," he said. "We're continuing our analysis."

Mid-Mo, which opened 42 years ago, has a 69-bed capacity but closed a 14-bed unit last month in an effort to keep its budget in the black. Bax said the hospital had been operating above capacity.

There are now 55 inpatient beds available, including 45 adult beds, six child beds and a four-bed emergency observation unit.

Mid-Mo is the only inpatient center for mental health patients in Columbia since Boone Hospital Center eliminated 12 beds in the summer.

Bax said the state mental health department and University Hospital for several months have been discussing a new operating plan for Mid-Mo. "But if they should choose not to" take over Mid-Mo, "we would have to continue to seek other solutions," he said. "We are not going to shut down psychiatric services in Mid-Missouri."

A university-run facility would qualify for higher Medicaid reimbursements than the hospital now receives. Although that would create a better revenue stream, University Healthcare officials also have expressed concern about capital improvements that would be needed if MU takes over the mental health center.

Bax said the operational transition would need to be wrapped up by July 1 because the current fiscal year ends June 30. "We're going to continue to have these discussions and move forward on this," he said.

One Mid-Mo employee who spoke on condition of anonymity said there is "a tremendous rumor mill" churning inside the mental health facility. She said the report of ongoing discussions is "a lot of talk without much action."

"People are afraid," she said, expressing worry that jobs might be cut and that patients with severe mental illness won't have inpatient treatment. "There's so much to lose."

The worker said a group of employees would meet sometime today to discuss how to show a united front to administrators in case there are further cuts in bed space or staff. "We'll go down fighting," she said, "because it's just awful."